Cape Girardeau County's highway department prepares for winter

With the season for cold weather fast approaching, the Cape Girardeau County Highway Department is relying on its experienced crew to remove snow and ice efficiently and safely.

"Most of them have been around awhile, for at least five years. We have quite a few with 20 or more years' experience," said highway administrator Scott Bechtold said. "They know where to go to more than I do, frequently."

Bechtold said many of the county's routine preparations are not much different from those of any vehicle owner.

"We check the antifreeze levels. If something has water in it, we drain it so it doesn't freeze," he said.

When winter weather creates slick roads following snow, sleet and ice, Bechtold said the department puts cinder spreaders and plows on its dump trucks and begins the arduous task of treating more than 400 miles of county road.

He said regardless of the weather, there is always a cinder spreader on one truck to accommodate isolated slick spots, quickly changing conditions or other emergencies.

"We can just load it up with cinder and be on our way," he said.

He said it is not uncommon to be asked to treat a road following a fire. If firefighters spray water to extinguish a fire when the temperature is below freezing, they will often need help getting their trucks off the roads that have become icy.

While Bechtold's crew put in long hours during a winter weather emergency, they do not work 24 hours a day.

"Because of our limited amount of equipment compared to the miles we have to maintain, we don't do anything until there's a buildup on the ground," he said.

If a storm comes through at night, he said, crews will come in a couple of hours early and often work until 9 or 10 p.m.

"Generally that gets one good pass open on all the roads," he said.

The department tries to clear off the more well-traveled roads first, along with several hills that tend to get slick quickly, but Bechtold said often it is a matter of location.

"We don't have a big priority list. We'll route from where the equipment is. We'll start there and make rounds," he said.

Part of keeping the roads clear involves tree and limb removal. He said he often goes out with a chain saw and helps clear the roads so crews can spread cinder. If a tree branch is in the way, he said, no amount of cinder will help.

Because the same equipment used in warmer weather to haul gravel is the same that removes ice and snow, Bechtold said, there is no separate cold weather training. He said the department does participate in general safety classes throughout the year and those lessons apply in cold weather, too.

cbartholomew@semissourian.com

243-8600